SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Alex Smith arrived in San Francisco with the pressure of being the No. 1 overall draft pick. He got called a draft bust, then turned the tide to win back those same fans who had booed him out of Candlestick Park.Smith got hurt, bounced back, started and was benched, then regained his job and lost it once more. All the while as he adjusted to a new offensive co-ordinator and system nearly every year.Smith will be the first to say his up-and-down tenure with the 49ers hardly went how he hoped when he left Utah as the NFLs top choice in 2005. When he takes the field at Levis Stadium in the other uniform Sunday with Kansas City, there will be mixed emotions for everybody involved.No bitterness at all, Smith said. What happened there the end of the (2012) year, losing my job, you get to that point and I say this a lot, worrying about anything that was outside your control and dwelling on any of that stuff is only going to have a negative impact.He is coming off a statement game in a 41-14 Monday night win by the Chiefs (2-2) against Tom Brady and the Patriots. Smith threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns.I cant wait to see him. Me and Alex came in together, and Im so happy for him, said running back Frank Gore, a staunch supporter of Smith over the years. Hes doing a great job. Weve got to go out there and try to get a win. But Im happy for Alex and I love him, man.Smith considered leaving the Bay Area for good after the 2010 season. He stuck around, then in 2011 led teammates through their own practices at nearby San Jose State during the lockout.He had unfinished business, and then it was time to go.I felt like it was complete. I felt like we had rebounded, Smith said. It took a lot longer than I thought, got the organization back where it needed to be.That 2011 year, Smith rallied his team from behind five times, including four away games, as the Niners went 6-2 on the road. His 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds remaining in the NFC division playoffs lifted the 49ers to a 36-32 victory against the favoured Saints.And Smith was rewarded with a new three-year contract in March 2012 with the idea he would carry the offence again. A concussion and a strong-armed guy named Colin changed all that.Colin Kaepernick took over for good in November and Smith never regained his job even when healthy. He was stung, angry at times, and didnt agree with the decision. But he kept his mouth shut.One of the classiest people Ive ever been around, just an all-around great guy. I dont think anyone could have handled it any better than he did, Kaepernick said Wednesday. He definitely made things go a lot smoother. The way he handled things, he didnt turn it into a controversy in the locker room. That just shows the character he has not just as a player but as a man.Smith finds it funny this week to be watching 49ers defensive stars Justin Smith and Patrick Willis on tape.Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula was among Smiths supporters. It was Tomsula who started him over Troy Smith, which made him a winner in a one-game stint as interim head coach to end the 2010 season after Mike Singletary was fired.I have a tremendous amount of respect for Alex Smith a€” as a man, a father, a husband, a person, and a football player, Tomsula said. I think hes extremely intelligent, extremely gifted, I think hes a winner. I dont have a negative about Alex Smith, I just really think the world of him.In 2011, Smith thrived under 15-year quarterback-turned-first-year NFL head coach Jim Harbaugh and helped lead the franchise to its first post-season berth and winning record in nine years.Largely because of Smiths leadership then, the 49ers have emerged as a regular contender again. He threw for 3,150 yards and 17 touchdowns with only five interceptions in 2011 as arguably the biggest surprise in San Franciscos 13-3 run to its first division title since 2002.We have great respect for his game. Ive never seen Alex Smith not be good, Harbaugh said. Im sure that adds to it, adds to the competitiveness the fact Alex did play here. Very happy for his success, not rooting for success for him this week.Andy Reid, who returned to Philadelphia in his first season coaching the Chiefs last year, offered his own insight to Smith.What I did was I just ordered a cheesesteak and went and coached, Reid said. You eliminate the clutter. You focus in on what you do. All that stuff, going home, that doesnt mean anything.___AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in Kansas City contributed to this report.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFLKansas City Chiefs Jerseys .com) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to win two straight games for the first time since mid-January on Monday night as they play host to the struggling New York Islanders. Cameron Erving Jersey .com) - World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and four-time Australian Open titlist Roger Federer were among Mondays fourth-round winners at Melbourne Park. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth ... te-Jersey/. Neither striker Demba Ba nor Fernando Torres came close to scoring as Chelsea was left unsuccessfully appealing for penalties in this drab penultimate game of the season. "Our strikers are good strikers, no doubt about that, but players with some specific qualities," Mourinho said. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Jersey . Saskatchewans Darian Durant is expected to miss the rest of the Roughriders season with a torn tendon in his right elbow. The 32-year-old, who will undergo surgery in the next couple days to repair the injury, was added to the teams six-game injury list Tuesday. Christian Okoye Jersey . The Senators return from a lengthy layoff caused by Wednesdays attack on Parliament Hill to host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - LeBron James came leaping in to try to stop Jodie Meeks as the Detroit guard drove to the basket during the final seconds of the third quarter.After colliding with Meeks, James put his hands out to break his fall before sliding across the floor on his stomach.I was scared, because I broke my wrist on a fall like that in high school, James said. I was either going to land on my face or break the fall with my hands, but when I hit, both my arms went numb. Im OK now — it was just something like a stinger — but I wasnt sure at first.James barely missed any game time after that anxious moment, and he finished with 32 points to help the Cleveland Cavaliers to their seventh straight victory Tuesday night, 103-95 over the Pistons. Kyrie Irving matched his season high with 38 points.The Cavs never trailed in the second half, but when James hit the deck and didnt immediately get up, that was plenty to be concerned about.That is obviously a time of worry, which is the understatement of the year, Cleveland coach David Blatt said. In a situation like that, you are just hoping he is OK.James quickly came back in the game, and his two-handed breakaway dunk early in the fourth put Cleveland up 80-68.Greg Monroe had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Pistons, who pulled within eight and had the ball late in the fourth quarter, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was unable to connect from 3-point range. James drew a foul at the other end and made both free throws to make it 88-78 with 2:56 to play.Caldwell-Pope was fouled by James while shooting a 3-pointer with 2:00 remaining, and that trio of free throws made it 90-83. The Pistons got the ball back, but Andre Drummond missed a layup, and Irving connected from beyond the arc.The Cavs avenged a 23-point home loss to Detroit late last month. That game was part of a seven-game winning streak for the Pistons, but now Detroit is struggling to overcome the loss of Brandon Jennings, who ruptured his left Achilles tendon last weekend and will miss the rest of the season.ddddddddddddIRVINGS BIG NIGHTDetroit led 19-17 after a first quarter in which the teams combined to shoot 1 for 16 from outside the paint. Cleveland shrugged off that rough start and reached 100 points for the eighth straight game.Irving was 6 of 10 from 3-point range. The rest of the Cavs went 3 of 24.Thats the luxury of playing with a great player like LeBron. When hes on the floor, you know there are going to be things opened up for the rest of you, Irving said. Tonight, we had a lot of open shots, and we got enough of them to go down.UNDERMANNEDD.J. Augustin, Detroits starting point guard now in Jennings absence, had 19 points and nine assists, but the Pistons have lost three in a row. That skid began with the game at Milwaukee when Jennings got hurt, but coach Stan Van Gundy says the team needs to move forward without him.Weve got good enough players to win, Van Gundy said. We had good enough players in there tonight to win. We just needed to do a couple of things better, and were not going to come in here after every loss now and talk about Brandons effect on it — at least Im not.Cleveland outscored Detroit 50-48 in the paint. Drummond had 12 points and 17 rebounds but shot just 6 of 17.TIP-INSCavaliers: Cleveland had won its last four games by double digits before Tuesday. ... 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